from Architectural

Design, v.49, n.3/4, 1979, "~oma Interotta"

CHRI~:~IAN NORBERG-SCHULZ

GENIUS LOCI
OF

ROME
Image Rome is generally known as the Eternal City. Obviously this name indicates something more than just a very long history; to be 'eternal' implies that the city has always conserved its identity. Rome, in fact, cannot be understood as a mere collection of relics from different periods. No explanation is needed to become aware of the 'eternal' character of Roman architecture; it is immediately evident, whether we stand in front of a building from classical Antiquity or a Baroque structure. The 'eternal' quality of Rome therefore resides in a very strong, perhaps unique, capacity lor self-renewal. What, then, is this 'self"? What is the Idea romana in architectural terms? The common image of Rome is that of the great capital city, the caput mundi of Antiquity and the centre of the Universal Roman Catholic Church. In concrete terms this image implies on mentality and andezza. And Rome is grandiose indee ,albeit not in the way we might have expected if we come from one of the many cities rounded by the Romans in the various parts of the Empire. All these cities have the same layout, and we may recall the basic scheme: a pair of axes, the 'i.i:.rdo,and the ..:!!.H!!lH.'!YS, cross each other octagonally within a uadrangle. The Roman city, thus, was distinguis ed by an "';ilistract, 'absolute' order, and because of this quality it served as a model for many capitals of later epochs. But Rome itself does not obey any comprehensive geometrical system; from Antiquity, it has always appeared as a large 'cluster' of spaces and buildings of various sizes and shapes. In Rome the absolute system of the crossing axes is confined to single elements, such as the fora and the thermae. A more comprehensive axis urbis may be found after a closer scrutiny', but it does not determine the immediate appearance of the city. It is therefore evident that the genius loci of Rome does not first of all reside in abstract order. Perhaps it is determined rather by an extensive use of classical forms? As the capital of Antiquity, Rome ought to possess the harmonious equilibrium of classical architecture and its anthropomorphic presence. But Rome is quite different from a Greek city. The latter was distinguished by buildings which appeared as articulate bodies composed of 'individual' members. The Roman building, in contrast, was conceived as an integrated whole, as an enclosed space rather than a body. Moreover it was to a high extent assimilated by a superior urban totality. The classical Orders are there, but they do not have a constituent function. Evidently Rome cannot without reservations be characterised Roman genius loci may at first seem surpnsing. How can the capital of the world be 'idyllic'"! Obviously we do not have a kind of small-scale intimacy in' mind, such as we find in the villages and towns of Denmark. Rome is monumental and grandiose, but at the same time its spaces have an interiority which give us a strong sense of protection and belonging. First of all, however, Rome has conserved a certain 'rustic simplicity' which brings nature close. Hardly any other great European city expresses the same closeness to nature. and hard lv any other place has in the same way humanised nature. This might be the essence, of the Roman genius loci: the feeling of rootedness in a 'known' natural environment. To understand Rome, we therefore have to leave the city and experience the surrounding landscape, the Roman campagne. The character of the campagna does not consist in violent contrasts between forms, in a powerful juxtaposition of mass and space, mountain and valley. but rather in a certain majestic and controlled rhythm in the articulation of the masses, in a subordination of the single figures to slowly rising or falling movements."

Within the great unifying movements of the Roman landscape we may, however, discern several types which have their distinct and profoundly meaningful character. These landscapes are 'gathered' by Rome; yes, it is the very existence of the self-satisfied, enclosed world of the Rome which makes Latium become a unified street is the characteristic quality of old Rome: whole. a complete world, a small universe, an Eden Through an analysis of the landscapes of from which Nordic m~ is expelled; the idyll of Latium we may therefore arrive at the needed the street, I should say. explanation of the genius loci of Rome, of its various components and their interaction. First of And he' goes on describing the concrete properties all we have to travel to the strange,~nke' , v~J of the Roman street, its enclosure and continuity where 'idyllic' spaces are closed in by which are determined by the lack of sidewalks- and -OLEtruria, contmuous' walls of golden-brown tufa. Originally stairs in front of the entrances, its colours and the site of Rome had this character; the famous smells, and its pulsating, multifarious life. The seven hills were not really hills but crests between a Roman street does not separate the houses, it series of blind valleys along the Tiber. The unifies them, and gives you a feeling of being inside Etruscans used the sides of such valleys for tombs when you are out. The street is an urban interior and cellars, and built their villages on the crests. where life takes place, in the full sense of the word. This was also the pattern of ancient Rome, and it In the piazza this character is emphasised; the constituted the truly local component of its houses surround the space, and the centre is genius. That its importance was recognised is usually marked by a fountain. proved by the fact that the altar dedicated to the genius loci was located immediately under the The piazza may be planned or be a result of steep tufa rock of the Palatine hill.7 Secondly we' historical growth; always it crystallizes as an have to visit the Alban hills on the other side of enclosed figure, always it is idyllically rounded. 5 Rome, where we find a basically different landscape. Here the gods of Antiquity are at home, . To use the word 'idyll' to characterise the

as a 'classical' city. For a long time, in fact, Roman architecture was considered a degeneration of Greek architecture. So far our question about the Roman genius loci remains unanswered. We feel its strong and 'eternal' presence, but how should it be explained's Most valuable contributions to its understanding have been given by Kaschnitz van Weinberg and Kahler, but their investigations centred on grasping the varieties of classical architecture 2 rather than , the character of Rome as a place. Among the works of H P L'Orange, however, we find a profound and poetical description of Rome in phenomenological terms.' L'Orange does not take the single building as his point of departure, but wants to understand the urban environment as a whole. Thus he characterises the Roman street with these words:

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51

Jupiter, Juno and Diana, and the natural forms are in fact distinguished by 'Greek' clarity and presence, Finally we should go to Palestrina, where the cardodecumanus scheme for the first time was realised on a monumental scale. At Palestrina a 'cosmic' order seems present in the landscape itself, and it is not surprising that the place was dedicated to the cult of Fortuna, that is, fate, After these excursions we may return to Rome with a basis for understanding its genius loci and for explaining the meaning of the city as caput mundi. Space The Roman region is of volcanic origm. To the west and on both sides of the Tiber the land is covered by a thick crust of old lava and ash which is known as tufa, During the millennia wate : courses have dug deep valleys and ravines in the volcanic crust, in Italian called forre,! The forre appear as surprising interruptions of the flat or rolling carnpagna, and as they are ramified and interconnected, they constitute a kind of 'urban' network of paths, a kind of 'underworld' profoundly different from the everyday surface above, The campagna hardly offers other natural places: during the centuries the area around Rome had in fact an almost desert-like appearance. The forre therefore had a primary place-creating function, and innumerable villages have taken advantage of the protected and identified sites formed by the ramifications of the forre (Sutri, Nepi, Civira Castellana, Barbarano, Vitorchiano, etc). In the forre one has the feeling of being 'inside', a quality which is more often experienced in environments with a varied microstructure than in the grand and perspicuous landscapes of the classical South. The forre have been extensively used during the course of history, In certain places (Norchia, Barbarano, Castel d'Asso) the Etruscans transformed the natural rocks into continuous rows of architectural facades, creating vertiable cities for the dead. It is in this connection important to point out that the excavation of tufa rocks is an archetypal way of 'building' in large parts of the Roman region. Today it is still a well-known profession to be grottaiolo, that is, an excavator of artificial caves. In general the forre bring us close to the ancient forces of the earth; they bring us 'inside' and give us roots. Whereas the landscape of the forre is under the neutral surface of the campagna, the Alban hills rise up to form an impressive and well delimited mass over the everyday world.9 Being an old volcano, the Alban hills have a simple shape, and their clear topographical features are emphasised by the presence of two almost circular lakes in the deep craters, The hills thus possess the basic property of the classical landscape: a distinct and easily imaginable relationship between masses and spaces, No wonder that the main sanctuaries of Latium were located here, On the top of Monte Cavo tAlbanus Mons) Jupiter Latiaris presided over the whole region. In the woods on the slope of the mountain Diana reigned, mirroring herself in the calm and deep Lago di Nemi, and on the other side of the lake, in Lanuvio (Lanuvium}, where the slope is cultivated and less steep, Juno had her temple, It is hardly accidental that, the sanctuaries are lined up on a north-scum axis. Every spring the 47 members of the Latin confederation celebrated the Feriae Latinae on the top of Monte Cavo, confirming thus the importance of the Alban hills as the centre of the natural region of Latium, The hills in fact formed the nodal point for a system of sanctuaries, If we continue the 'sacred' axis to the south, we reach :~.!gi!LtIn1.!Y.,!!,) where there was a

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temple dedicated to Fortuna. Towards the north the same axis brings'us to Tusculum where Castor and Pollux were at home, and to Tivoli (Tibur) where Hercules ruled over a wilder kind of environment. The main sanctuaries of Latius thus formed a natural cardo with Jupiter at the centre, On the other side of Rome the situation was' different; ancient Etruria was conquered by the Romans relatively late, and the wood-clad Monte Cimino for a long time remained an insurmountable obstacle. Towards the north, however, where the Tiber valley reaches the Roman campagna, we ftnd an isolated and very characteristic natural place, the mountain of Soracte, where the temple of the old sun-god Soranus was located, later to be identified with Apollo. We understand that Rome is situated berween two different worlds: to the west the chthonic world of the forre, and to the east the classical landscape of the gods. Around Rome, keeping both worlds at a certain distance, we find the campagna proper, which creates a kind of pause be~l':. '.!e reaches the man-made synthesis of the city~;:"' But this is not all. The third basic cornpone 0 the Roman genius loci. the cardo-decumanus scheme, is also present in the natural surroundings, In Palestrina a large sanctuary dedicated to Fort"una was built about 80 sc." Two old sacred places in the steep hillside were taken as the point of departure for the new layout: a circular temple of Fortuna Primigenia from the third century BC, and a statue of Fortuna with Jupiter and Juno in her lap, These two elements were incorporated in a grand scheme of axially disposed terraces, The axis functions as a cardo which leads the eye between the Alban hills and the Lepine mountains towards the distant sea, Below the sanctuary the wide and fertile Secco valley, which connects the Roman region with Campania [elix , runs towards the east, crossing the north-south cardo like a decumanus. Its direction is repeated in the terraces of the sanctuary, which thereby appears as a grandiose concretisation of the 'cosmic' order which

embraces the whole landscape, When a Roman place was consecrated, the augur seated himself at the centre, and with his stock (lituus) he defined the two main axes, dividing space into four domains, This division represented the cardinal points, and the space which was thus articulated within the boundary of the horizon was called the templum, The sanctuary of Palestrina illustrates this procedure, and because of the correspondence between 'cosmic' scheme and natural site it 'proves' the validity of the scheme, The seven hills of Rome do not suggest any cosmic order.lI Rather irregularly five of them protrude from the campagna towards the Tiber, near the island which made the passage of the river easy, Between these hills and the Tiber two other tufa rocks rise more freely from the plain along the river, the Capitoline and the Palatine hills, Between all the hills a kind of basin is formed, which is the natural centre of the whole configuration, Further to the west a larger plain, the Campo Marzio, is embraced by the river, Being exposed and swampy, it remained outside the urban area until the second century Be. On the other side of the Tiber the topographical conditions are simpler; a tufa ridge running north-south, the Janiculum, defines a smaller plain which in due time should become the suburb of Trastevere, The site of Rome, thus, belongs to the characteristic world of the forre. But it is not just one among many possible sites, Nowhere else along the Tiber an equally 'strong' configuration is found, and in the whole of Etruria there hardly exists a similar cluster of hills which is so well predisposed for a conurbation, In early times Rome in fact consisted of several settlements, which, like the villages of present-day Etruria, were located along the crests of the hills. Among these settlements, however, one had a particular position and role; Roma Quadrate on the Palatine hill. According to legend this settlement was founded by Romulus and Remus in 753 BC, and the name indicates that it might have possessed a cardo and a decumanus. The axis urbis of the conurbation, however, was the Via Sacra leading along the common Forum in the basin between the hills, 12 It is hardly a coincidence that this axis connects the Jupiter temple on the Capitol with the distant Alban hills! The axis urbis represents the first attempt to make Rome something more than a cluster of vernacular settlements, The fact that the axis symbolically extends towards the old centre of Latium shows that the city wanted to assume the role 'Of a true urban place which 'gathers' the surroundings, 'om early times, then, Rome possessed a Vl~o"'u~D(\,le;';" structure: the vernacular cluster of spatial ttlements with roots in the earth to which it belongs, and the abstract axis which made the city become the focus of a more comprehensive totality, The main property of the first component is the 'idyllic' enclosure of the urban spaces: the second, instead, aims at axial symmetry, When these two components are combined, a particular kind of architectural unit comes into being: an axially ~1'I"10 ure, which may ~e considered!he basic element of Roman architecture. Ancient Rome literally consisted of such units serving various functions: fora, thermae, sanctuaries, palaces, atrium houses; all of them are axiallyordered enclosures. It is important to note that the units conserve a certain independence within the urban' totality, They are not assimilated by any' superior geometrical system, but are added together like the individual buildings lof the classical Greek settlement. Thus we arrive at the third fundamental property of Roman space: the classical image of an

environment consisting of distinct, individual places. There is. however, one important difference: whereas the Greeks added up plastic 'bodies', the Romans used spaces as units. During the course of history the spatial structure of Rome was strengthened and enriched. The 'idyllic' enclosure was' given ever new interpretations, but its basic importance was never doubted. A truly dominant system of streets was therefore impossible in Rome. The axis urbis of Antiquity was emphasised through the addition of new buildings, but it always remained implicit rather than ex-plicit. First of all it got a centre when the Colosseum was built in the sacred valley between the hills (75-80 AD). The Colosseum certainly has a meaning which goes beyond its practical purpose. Its central location on the axis and its oval form suggest that it was intended as a 'world theatre' where all the peoples under the rule of Rome could come together at the very centre of the Empire.13 The axis urbis was moreover extended to the other side of the Tiber by the construction of a circus, where the Vatican is today (40 AD). Finally we may mention the temple of Venus and Rome (circa 120 AD), which also stamrs 011 tfie' axis. Having two cellae back-to-hack, it visualises the double extension of the axis which symbolised the role of Rome as caput mundi, The event of Christianity did not cliange the urban structure. As has been convincingly pointed out by Guidoni, Constantine transformed Rome symbolically into a Christian city by locating the two main churches on the axis urbis: the church of the Saviour (today St John in the Lateran) to the south, and St Peter's to the north.14 Later a symbolic 'decurnanus' was added between the churches of St Paul and St Mary (S Maria Maggiore), whereby the sign of the cross was put over the whole city. The centre of this cross was still the Colosseum, which was evidently accepted by the Christians as a cosmic symbol, a symbol whose fall would mean 'the end of the world'. During the Renaissance and the Baroque several

attempts were made to give Rome an integrated geometrical structure. The most radical and comprehensive changes were planned by Pope Sixtus V (1585-90).15 His principal aim was to connect the main religious foci of the city by means of wide, straight streets. Sixtus V integrated in his solution fragments of regular Renaissance planning carried out by his predecessors, in particular the ~nt of !!za...sIalbll 10 .vhe~e three streets brancn-out to connect the main City gate with different urban districts. In general the plan of Sixtus V should make the individual sacred place become part of a comprehensive religious system. It is highly significant, however, that the plan remained a fragment. An abstract, superior system of the kind did not suit the Roman genius loci, and during the Baroq ue epoch, attention was again switched over to the creation of separate urban foci. The enclosed imperial fora of Antiquity were taken as a model, and a series of truly Roman spaces came into being. The first and urbanistically most significant urban interior was already created in the 16th century. The Capitoline Square by Michelangelo (1639 ff) was intended as a new manifestation of Rome as caput mundi, that is as a central place which symoolised the role of Rome in the world.!" But Michelangelo did not give the square an open, radiating layout as was normal at the time. Instead he made an enclosed space delimited by converging facades. A longitudinal axis was however introduced, which -deprives the place of any selfsufficiency. The synthesis of enclosure and directed movement is concretised by the oval which is inscribed between the buildings. The star-shaped 110ar pattern of the oval creates a strong centrifugal movement which contrasts with the converging facades. Because of the simultaneous spatial expansion and contraction thereby obtained, the Capitoline Square becomes one of the greatest interpretations of the concept of place ever conceived by man. It brings us to the centre, not only of the world, but psychologically also of those departures and returns which constitute our individual existence. The greatest of all Baroque squares, Piazza San Pietro by Bernini (1658-77), simply coiisrstsOf a monumental colonnade which delimits an oval space. I 7 The main axes of this oval are clearly defined and the centre is marked by an obelisk. So again we encounter the double theme of enclosure and direction, which has here been reduced to its very essentials. The colonnade encloses space in the simplest and most emphatic manner, and at the same time lets the 'interior' communicate with the surrounding world. The basic spatial structure of Piazza San Pietro is strikingly similar to that of the Colosseum. and we may in this connection recall that Constantine substituted the Roman building with a round forum enclosed by colonnades when he planned Constantinople; a forum which had a nodal function analogous to that of the Colosseum. Piazza San Pietro has indeed become the new meeting place of all mankind, as was intended by Bernini, and it fulfills this function without giving up its Roman interiority. It has been said that Rome is a city where one feels 'inside' while being outside. The interiors of the main buildings make us experience this interiority in condensed form. The most important contribution of the ancient Romans to the history of architecture was in fact the creation of grand interior spaces and groups of such. In Greek architecture space is a mere 'in-between', secondary to the surrounding buildings. In Rome, instead, it became the primary concern of architecture and

was treated as a 'substance' to be shaped and articulated. Thus the spaces show a great variety of forms, and are covered by vaults and domes which so far had only played a secondary role in architecture. To make this possible, the Romans developed a new building technique, a kind of concrete which was cast to form continuous walls and coverings (opus caementicium}. The Roman conception of interior space found its grandest manifestation in the Pantheon (120 AD), where a circular room is enclosed by a continuous, massive wall. The enclosure, however. is interpenetrated by a longitudinal axis, and thus the building visualises the basic spatial properties of the Roman genius loci. In the Pantheon man's existence on earth is interpreted as 'idyllic' sojourn and dynamic conquest. and both interpretations are made manifest under an 'eternal', heavenly dome. In the Pantheon, thus, earth and heaven are united, and the Roman 'idyll' is understood as the reflection of a general cosmic harmony. During the history of Roman architecture the same themes have been subject to ever new variations. Let us only mention the enclosed world of the Roman palazzo, the dialectic relationship between enclosure and axis in Michelangelo's St Peter, and the High Baroque interpretation of the same themes in Borromim's Sanr'Ivo , Character I have already pointed out that Rome is located between two different 'worlds': The chthonic world of Etruria and the classical world or-me AlBan hills, and I have implied that the urban environment reflects both of them. I have, however, also maintained that the natural site of the city rather belongs to the chthonic domain, and suggested that the streets and piazze of Rome have the forre of Etruria as their concrete model. In Vergil's Aeneid we find an illuminating description of the site: Next Evander showed Aeneas a large grove which bold Romulus was later to make his sanctuary. anc, under a dank crag, the Lupercal,

53

the Wolf's Cave, which is named in the Arcadian fashion after the Wolf-god, Lycaean Pan. He showed him also the sacred grove of the Argileturn, and explained how on this spot Argos met his death. although a guest. From there he conducted him to the Tarpeian Rock and the Capitol, which is now all gold, but which was once wild and covered with undergrowth. Even in those days that spot held a sinister awe of its own, which inspired fear and dread in the country folk. who trembled at the trees and the rocks. [Evander continued: I This hill with its wooded crest is the abode of some god, but it is not known which god he is. The Arcadians believe they have seen Jupiter here, shaking the dark aegis in his right hand to gather the clouds of storm. 1 8 And, indeed, Jupiter got his temple on the Capitoline hill, from where he tamed the occult forces of rocks and woods. The passage from Vergil is highly significant as it makes the original genius loci become alive. Today the rocks and hills of Rome have lost most of their presence, as the ground has risen 10-20 metres during the course of history, and we have to go to Etruria to rediscover the landscape which 'educated the eyes' of the ancient Romans. In the forre of Etruria we meet what Paolo Portoghesi appropriately has called 'Rome before Rome'.19 Here we find the goldenbrown colour of Piazza Navona and the Roman streets, and we find the soft, malleable tufa which has determined the Roman sense of form. Although the landscape of the forre has some properties in common with the romantic landscapes of the Nordic countries, it is basically different. The forre do not constitute any infinite, mysterious world such as the Nordic forest, but consist of delimited imaginable spaces. And their relationship to the sky is also different. The walls of the forre do not end in a serrate silhouette, but are suddenly cut off by the flat campagna. Thus they end like a row of buildings crowned by a cornice. The Etruscans in fact had no difficulty in transforming

the walls into semi-classical facades (Norchia), Rather than being a romantic world in the Nordic sense, the forre therefore represent a 'pre-classical' world. a world which still waits for being humanised. The vernacular architecture of the Roman region is closely related to its natural character. The houses usually have a simple prismatic shape with a sloping roof which hardly projects beyond the wall. Mostly they are joined together in such a way, however, that it is not easy to distinguish the single units. The general character is massive and enclosed; the windows are small and are cut into the walls like holes. The most common building material is tufa blocks. whose colour may vary from dark brown to yellow, gray and black. The softness of the material and the rather irreguiar joining of the blocks make the buildings seem modelled rather than built, an impression which is stressed by the continuous but irregular rows of facades. Rising up from rocks of tufa, the houses appear as a more orecise version of the natural forms, and usually th~ villages are located in such a way that they define and emphasise important structural features in the landscape, such as crests, isolated plateaus, and promontories. When architecture is used to clarify and visualise a landscape which consists of imaginable forms and spaces, it is appropriate to talk about a 'pre-classical' character, a quality which is emphasised by the elementary shape of the houses themselves. The vernacular architecture of the Roman region thus combines closeness to the earth with a wish for imaginable order. The urban architecture of Rome to a high extent conserves this vernacular character. On the Campo Marzio and especially in Trastevere the streets often look like hollowed-out spaces in tufa rocks rather than built environments; an impression which is strengthened by the heavy and rusticated ground floors. The arched openings of the tabernae remind us of the grottoes excavated in the walls of the forre. The arches themselves rarely have a tectonic appearance; usually they form an integral pan of a continuous, 'modelled' frame around the opening. The building materials very thin bricks and plaster. emphasise the general continuity of the space-defining boundaries. In the simpler houses articulation is scarce. Mostly it only consists in a subdivision of the facade by means of string-courses. In more articulate build-

ings, the floors may be differentiated among themselves; for instance by making them gradually 'lighter' over a rusticated base. We may in this context recall Serlio's characterisation of the rusticated wall as opera di nature, a concept which proves that the architecture of the cinquecento still recognised its vernacular roots. The differentiation of the storeys, however, never becomes a vertical 'addition' of independent units. The classical Orders are usually absent from Roman secular facades, but

classical detail appears as pediments. cornices etc. The traditional Roman house is therefore a unified and enclosed building, characterised by plasticity and heaviness. The architectural detail is applied to a massive core rather than being part of an articulate body. The type has conserved its identity throughout the course of history. We find it in the insulae of ancient Rome. as is clearly evident in the better preserved sections or Ostia and in the Via Biberatica in Rome. It remained alive during the Middle Ages,20 and reappeared with full force in . the palaces of the Renaissance and the Baroque. The classical superimposition of Orders introduced by Alberti in Palazzo Rucellai, Florence. about 1450. never became a success in Rome. After the use of facade-pilasters in the Cancelleria (1489) Roman architecture returned to the massive opera di natura, an approach which found its typical manifestation in Palazzo Farnese by Antonio da Sangallo (1517). Thus the Roman environment conserved its closeness to nature. Even during the Baroque period the palace did not change its basic properties. A building such as Borromini's Palazzo di Propaganda Fide (1647 ff) appears as a large. enclosed mass. The rounded comers emphasise its plastic character. and the string-courses between the storeys tie the volume together rather than subdivide it. The entrance facade shows a convexconcave movement which makes the continuity of the Roman wall evident. The row of giant pilasters which flank the main gate do not belong to any skeletal structure. but. together with the elaborate windows on the main floor. visualises the 'archaic' plastic force of the building. Evidently, thus, the classical members have a particular function in Roman architecture. In Greek architecture the classical members are constituent elements in the full sense of the word. The buildings are made of columns, entablature and pediments. They are trabeated structures. where each member embodies the character of the whole. In Roman architecture. instead. the classical Orders are applied to or liberate themselves from a

mass which is 'given' a priori. The Orders therefore have a purely characterising function, and are used to 'hurnanise ' the given opera di natura. This is already evident in the Colosseum, where the superimposed Orders transform the primary mass into a system of characters. Being a main public building, a centre where the structure of existence becomes manifest, the Colosseum exposes the Orders outside, and thereby it fulfills its focal role in the urban environment. In the Roman palace, instead, the superimposition of Orders is confined to the cortile. The ancient forces of nature dominate the exterior, and we have to go inside to find the human world of the classical characters. In the courtyard man has freed himself from the domination of the genius loci, and may live with those forms which syrnbolise his general understanding of the world. The Classical aedicola which is used to mark the entrance to the palace, announces the character 0 f this interior domain .: In certain cases, however, the Orders are also used to characterise a public, urban space. As examples we may again quote the Capitoline Square and Piazza San Pietro. Being main urban foci, these squares represent a synthesis of nature and culture. They 'gather' the meetings of the particular natural environment as well as man's general knowledge, and thereby make a total form of life visible. In both cases this problem is solved in a truly Roman way. The squares are not only 'urban interiors', but their boundaries also have the plastic quality and grandezza of the typical Roman wall. A giant order is used (pilasters at the Carnpidoglio and columns at St Peter's) which carries a very heavy entablature crowned by a balustrade and a row of statues. The powerful interaction of vertical and horizontal members is Roman rather than Greek, and when we walk inside the colonnade of Piazza San Pietro between the immense, swelling Tuscan shafts, we feel an echo of the ancient world of the forre and remember Vergil's words about the 'sinister awe' of the Roman environment. Here this awe does not announce the presence of Jupiter, but prepares for entering the church of St Peter's, perhaps the greatest manifestation of Roman interiority after the Pantheon. . Since the first churches were built under Constantine, Roman sacred architecture has conserved its typical properties. The basic themes of enclosure and axiality were from the very beginning concretised in centralised and longitudinal structures, which were used as bapistry/tomb and congregational basilica respectively, a profoundly meaningful distinction which interprets life as a path between birth and death.21 In both cases the early church was distinguished by a strong interiority. The exterior was hardly given any architectural attention, except for a certain emphasis on the main facade; it was conceived as a neutral shell around a richly articulate interior. In general this theme is taken over from Antiquity, but the Christian interpretation is different. The interior of the Pantheon is evidently a representation of the cosmos. The space is divided in three superimposed zones; the first having a plastic character, the second a simpler and more regular articulation, whereas the geometrical dome makes eternal harmony manifest. In the early Christian church we find an echo of this differentiation; but the precise anthropomorphic character of the lower zone is subdued, while the upper part of the space is transformed into a de-rnaterialised heavenly domain which spreads out as continuous surfaces of shimmering mosaic. The churches of the Renaissance and the Baroque offer new interpretations of the same

themes. Again we find that the exterior is of secondary importance, except for an increasing emphasis on the main facade, which in the Baroque churches indicates a return to the more active relationship between the exterior and interior world of ancient Roman architecture. Only the domes which rise over the roofs of the surrounding houses are fully articulate bodily forms which signal the urban presence of the values symbolised by the church. These domes are also eminently Roman in their harmonious equilibrium of horizontal and vertical movements; so basically different from the aspiring silhouettes of Byzan tine and Eastern churches. In the interiors of the Roman Baroque the anthropomorphic members of classical architecture are again used with full assurance. Even the tiny space of S Carlino by Borromini (1639fO is surrounded by a 'colonnade' of plastic shafts, and in St John in the Lateran the same architect used a rhythmical succession of giant pilasters. In general, however, the Baroque churches conserve the primeval cave-like character of Roman space, and shun the Gothic inspired dsmaterialisation of Central European buildings.22 The Romans did to space what the Greeks did to plastic form. Applying the classical orders to the boundaries of interiors and urban spaces, they transformed the amorphous enclosure into a structured whole where the properties of the boundaries determine the character of the space. Although it is hardly possible to give the boundary of a space the same presence as a bodily form, walls may be transformed into a plastic skeleton, as was done by Bernini in the colonnade of St Peter's Square. The normal Roman solution, however, was to apply the classical members to a continuous, structural wall. This is the method used in the Pantheon, the great thermae, the Basilica of Maxantius as well as the Baroque churches. What is 'given' in Roman architecture is therefore mass and space as primeval totalities. The man who excavates a space in the soft rock, does not construct an 'opposite' which, like the Greek temple, faces him ... He rather penetrates into amorphous matter, and his creative activity consists in making for himself an existential space. 23 These words of Kaschnitz von Weinberg well define the different approaches of the Greeks and the Romans. We only have to add that the Romans took over the classical orders to humanise their existential space. To conclude we might visit Piazza Navona, where we encounter the existential space of the Romans in its archetypal form. Piazza Navona is not a monumental square; here we rather return to the origins, and rediscover the idyllic world of the forre and the vernacular settlements. Its general

properties concretise the local landscape, and its continuous orange-brown walls make us remember the tufa of Etruria. The articulation of the boun- . daries however, also comprises the anthropomorphic classical characters, with the dome of S Agnese as.a primary, bodily manifestation. None of. the two components dominate, an ideal equilibrium between nature and culture has been achieved. At Piazza Navona we are really 'inside', close to the earth, close to the palpable things of everyday existence; at the same time as we feel part of a comprehensive cultural totality. No wonder that it has become the popular place of Rome par excellence. The synthesis of nature and culture is condensed and visualised in Bernini's great fountain, where natural elements such as water and rocks are combined with human figures and religious symbols. In front of the church of S Agnese, finally, we find another characteristic Roman element: a broad flight of stairs. In Rome stairs are not used to create a distance between different existential realms. rather they represent an articulation of the ground itself. The great Roman stairs bring us close to the earth and increase our sense of belonging to the place.

Genius Loci
Our analysis of the spatial structure and character of the Roman region has shown that Rome forms the centre of a landscape which contains 'everything'. In Latium the old chthonic forces are present, as well as the anthropomorphic characters oi the classical gods, and the abstract, cosmic order of the sky. These meanings become manifest as an exceptionally varied and rich environment. In Etruria we encounter the underworld of the forre, in the Alban hills we rise up to meet the new gods, and between these two realms the carnpagna forms an everyday level where the daily life of man takes place. The role of Rome as caput mundi is undoubtedly determined by this natural situation. In Rome all the basic categories of existential meanings are gathered, like in no other place. This gathering does not simply consist in the central location of the city, but in an active symbolisation of the various meanings. The world of the forre is thus reproduced in the streets and piazze of Rome's everyday environment, and the gods are brought down from the hills to be housed in urban temples. From these temples they extend their influence to the whole environment: classical forms appear on the facades and in the courtyards of the houses and palaces, and 'humanise' their 'natural' structure. This synthesis of the chthonic and the classical constitutes the essence of the Roman 'idyll'. In the Greek towns instead, the chthonic forces were vanquished by the 'new' gods. and the environment became fully classical. What was thereby gained in human content was lost as a separation from the given natural reality. The Roman synthesis also comprises the cosmic dimension which from immemorial times has been associated with the course of the sun. Straight north of Rome, Soracte rises up to receive its rays: 'Look how the snow lies deeply on glittering Soracte .. .' says Horace,:J<I and still today the mountain exercises its spell on the visitor of the campagna, The quality of the light is certainly one of the. great environmental factors which have determined the Roman genius loci. In Rome it has neither the thing-consuming force of the desert sun, nor the shimmering atmospheric quality encountered in the North. The Roman light is strong and reliable, it brings out the plastic quality of things, and when it meets the golden-brown tufa, the environ men t gets a warm and assuring

5,

character. But the cosmic dimension is something more than light. First of all it implies a system of directions which forms a frame of reference for all appearances. The cardinal points give man a general foothold in a mutable world. They are not . tied to any particular place, but have a universal validity which made the cardo-decumanus scheme the natural symbol of the Koman Empire.2S It would be nearsighted to interpret the scheme as a mere expression of power; it rather concretises the belief in a general cosmic harmony behind all phenomena. With the incorporation of the cardinal points in all the main building types, the Roman syn thesis became complete. In Palestrina this synthesis got its concrete confirmation, Here nature itself reveals its hidden order, and only asks man to make it more clearly manifest through building. In the Colosseum and the Pantheon the synthesis becomes symbolically present in the urban man-made environment. The Colosseum thus unifies primeval matter, anthropo morphic Orders and cosmic axes in the simplest possible way. Being the urban focus of Rome, it reveals this synthesis openly in public. The Pantheon' instead, makes the same meanings manifest as an interior world, expressing thereby that the Roman synthesis is not something man has superimposed on the world. It is inherent in the world, and if we penetrate things, we shall discover truth. Both buildings make us remember Heidegger's words that 'to be on earth means to be under the sky'. The Colosseum is open in the vertical direction and is covered by the sky itself. When you are inside, tion of the chthonic forces. This is particularly the irregular 'profane' horizon of the city is left evident in the villas-Of Bagnaia, Bornarzo and Tivoli, behind; a perfect, undisturbed contour forms the where man really returns to nature. It is in this basis for the natural dome above. Never has man connection interesting to note that the cinquecento made the sky present in a more convincing way. 26 preferred the wild nature of Etruria and Tivoli to In the Pantheon the world is gathered under a the classical environment of Frascati, which instead built, symbolic dome. It is important to note that became the fashionable place of the seicento. Still the coffers of the dome are not related to the more important is the fact that even the tragic art centre of the sphere which could be inscribed of Michelangelo respects the Roman genius loci. within the space. The dome is related to the centre The strong plasticity and immense heaviness of his of the t1oor, that is, to the cen tre of the earth, and bodies is truly Roman, and when he defines the the vertical axis which rises up from this centre body as the 'prison of the soul', he interprets the through the large opening at the zenith therefore unifies earth and heaven (also as light) ina meaninglocal spirit relative to his own situation. Michelful totality. angelo's art thus remains within the Roman limits: it never becomes insubstantially abstract like The architecture of Rome gathers and visuaJises Nordic Mannerism. During the Baroque period the a complete environment. This gathering obviously genius loci and the spirit of the time fitted perfectly comprises int1uences from other cultures. Thus together. Both wanted a comprehensive, triumphant Goethe said that Rome 'gave a dwelling to all gods'. synthesis, and the result was the exuberant works These influences, however, did not remain a mere of Bernini and the integrated and dynamic spaces foreign import; thanks to the multifarious structure of Borromini. The complex personality of the of Latium, almost everything found a local referlatter certainly reflects a multitude of influences ence. If the Alban hills ha9_ not been there, the and a certain romantic approach to architecture, classical gods would not hav been really at home but his conception of space as an enclosed. indivisin Rome, and if the campagna had not possessed its ible unit, remains essentially Roman. Rather than grand and solemn structure, the image of a general being antagonists, Bernini and Borromini therecosmic order might only have seemed a"far-fetched fore offered different interpretations of the same product of the human imagination. This general local character. receptivity is the real meaning of the saying that Rome has conserved its identity down to our 'all roads lead to Rome'. We might add that they time. During the Fascist period a serious attack on also lead from Rome. the idyllic coherence of the city was carried out, The power and versatility of the Roman genius but it was stopped in time. Unfortunately actual loci has throughout history given the architecture construction does not show much understanding of the city a unique self-assurance and grandezza. for the genius loci either, and the old city is today Even the pure and elegant quattrocento got a new surrounded by a belt of buildings which could substantiaJi,!l under the influence of Roman belong anywhere. Only in the Sports Palaces by Antiquity. A great unified interior such as Alberti's Nervi do we still feel the Roman sense of space and Sant'Andrea in Mantua is unthinkable without plastic presence. 27 More dangerous than the new Rome, and its facade reproduces the Roman triumbuildings, however, is the gradual destruction of phal arch, that is, the main symbol of Rome as the the landscape of Latium. In the past a destroyed place to which all roads lead. The crisis of the Rome meant a return to nature; for centuries the cinquecento did not reduce Roman architecture to ruins of past civiIisations were the distinctive mark an arbitrary play with forms, as it did in other of the Roman landscape. From this nature Rome places. In Rome it rather brought about a resurrec-

was always reborn as Rome,' but today the soil which gave the place its identity is becoming a mere memory. The Colosseum is still standing, but man obviously does not any more respect the meanings it embodies. Perhaps the fall of Colosseum was meant in this metaphorical sense.

Notes I E Guidoni: 'II Significato urbanisitico di Roma tra an tichita e medioevo ', in Palladia XXII, I-IV,1972 2 G Kaschnitz van Weinberg: Mittelmeerische Kunst, Berlin 1965. H Kahler: Wandlungen der aniiken Form. Munich 1949 3 H P L'Orange: Romersk idyll, Oslo 1952 4 A good general introduction to the character of Rome is offered by L Guaroni: Immagine di Roma, Bari 1969 4 L'Orange: op cit: p 17 5 Op cit: p 35 6 Op cit: p 8 7 G Lugli: II fore romano e il palatino, Rome 1971. p 182; also J Rykwert: The Idea of a Town, London 1976,p 114 8 Portoghesi: Le inibizioni ... , P 46 ff 9 Strangely enough, the Alban Hills have not yet been subject to a monographical study. 10 H Kahler: 'Das F ortunaheiligtum van Palestrina Praeneste ', in Annales Universitatis Saraviensis, vol VII, no 34, Saarbrucken 1958 11 For the original topography of Rome, see S Muratori, R Bollati, S Bollati, G Marinucci: Studi per una operance storia urbana di Roma, Rome 1963 12 Guidoni: op cit 13 Guidoni: op cit: p 6. It is significant to note that Nero built his palace where the Colosseum now stands, expressing thus the wish for 'taking possession' of the city. 14 Guidoni: op cit: p 10 ff Guidoni points out that the churches of St Peter and St Paul were built far away from the places of their martyrdom, to make the symbolic cross possible. 15 See S Giedion: Space. Time and Architecture, Cambridge, Mass 1967, P 82 ff 16 Norberg-Schulz: Meaning ... , p 278 17 Norberg-Schulz: Baroque Architecture 18 Vergi!: Aeneid VIII. 327-56 19 Portoghesi: Le inibizioni ... p 44 ff 20 A Bosthius: The Golden House of Nero, Ann Arbor 1960,p 129ff 21 Norberg-Schulz: Meaning .... p II 9 ff 22 Borromini's Re Magi Chapel represents an exception 23 Kaschnitz von Weinberg: Mittelmeerische Kunst. p 513 24 The Odes of Horace, Book I, ix 25 Cf Rykwert: op cit 26 We may in this context also remember the symmetrical velarium which was used to protect the spectators from the sun. 27 P L Nervi: New Structures, London 1963